Out of the Darkness, the Lord Gave Us Light

Thornton Dial

2003 · Carpet, cloth, two-part epoxy putty, enamel, and spray paint on canvas on wood · Modern and Contemporary Art

Dominated by shards of black, purple, and blue-green, the fractured surface of this piece suggests the moment of the Big Bang—the beginning of the universe. Many of Dial’s works concern the origin of things. Here, he draws on a line from the Book of Genesis: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." In his visualization of this divine moment, the three main colors battle for dominance of the composition. One of the oldest veins of art historical thought proposes God as the first artist—the first creator. Dial imagines his own version of the first "image" ever created, the moment when light appears from nothingness.

Artist

Thornton Dial

Date

2003

Medium

Carpet, cloth, two-part epoxy putty, enamel, and spray paint on canvas on wood

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2014